Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchIndia’s plague outbreak
In 1994, the pneumonic plague broke out in the city of Surat, causing mass panic.
It saw the largest migration across India since independence was de…
2 years, 1 month ago
Camouflaging Leningrad
It’s 85 years since the start of World War Two.
During the conflict, the Russian city of Leningrad came under siege in 1941.
To camouflage the landma…
2 years, 1 month ago
The invention of the CT scanner
In 1971, the CT scanner was invented by South African physicist Allan Cormack and British engineer Sir Godfrey Hounsfield.
It was a ground-breaking mo…
2 years, 1 month ago
When Italy gave back Ethiopia’s stolen obelisk
In 2005, the pieces of an ancient monument were flown back to Ethiopia, having been stolen by Italy.
The Obelisk of Axum, built around 1,700 years ago…
2 years, 1 month ago
Abebech Gobena: Africa's 'Mother Teresa'
In 1980, Abebech Gobena was on a pilgrimage to Wollo in Ethiopia, when she witnessed the devastating effects of a severe famine and drought, one of t…
2 years, 1 month ago
Ardi: The oldest skeleton of a human ancestor
In 1994, a college student called Yohannes Haile Selassie unearthed a 4.4 million-year-old skeleton in Ethiopia.
She was the first near-complete skel…
2 years, 1 month ago
Emperor Haile Selassie in Bath
In 1936, Haile Selassie came to Bath in the west of England to escape Mussolini and the fascists who had invaded Ethiopia.
He bought a property – Fair…
2 years, 1 month ago
Emperor Haile Selassie overthrown
Haile Selassie was Emperor of Ethiopia. His dynasty ruled for centuries, supposedly descending from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
In 1974 he w…
2 years, 1 month ago
Giant Gonzalez: from NBA star to WWE wrestler
In 1988, Jorge Gonzalez was a basketball star in Argentina and became the first athlete from this country drafted by an NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks. …
2 years, 1 month ago
Apollo 13
On 13 April 1970, a Moon mission almost ended in tragedy, after an explosion on board the spaceship.
Fred Haise was one of the Apollo 13 astronauts.
I…
2 years, 1 month ago